Transmigrated into a fat wife, farming, raising children, and picking up husbands

In the courtyard of a house to the east, a little boy of five or six years old was sniffling, his mouth watering as he smelled the delicious aroma in the air.

"Grandma, Grandma!" he called, turning around. "It smells so good outside! I want to eat!"

An elderly woman in her sixties, with gray hair, wearing an old jacket, was clutching a half-finished vegetable in her hand.

"Don't be silly, Gou Dan. They just moved in, we don't know them, how can we go over there?"

The old lady had smelled the aroma long ago and knew where it was coming from, but since she wasn't familiar with the place, she didn't want to be presumptuous and disturb her.

But the aroma was just too tempting, and Gou Dan tugged at her sleeve, refusing to let go, his little mouth pouting, "Grandma, I'm hungry..."

The old lady sighed and was pulled out the door by her grandson.

"Um...is anyone home?" She mustered her courage and rushed into the yard, tentatively calling out.

Lin Xiuer heard the noise and came out from the west wing. She saw an old woman leading a little boy standing at the door with a smile on her face, but there was a hint of unease in that smile.

"Auntie, come in and sit down!" Lin Xiuer put down the strainer in her hand and went over to greet her.

The old lady felt a little relieved by her greeting and pulled Gou Dan inside.

As soon as Gou Dan entered the door, his eyes were fixed on the big pot, his little nose twitching, as if he was completely drawn in by the aroma.

"I'm Granny Wang, who lives in the alley on the east side. It's just around the corner," Granny Wang introduced herself.

"This is my grandson, Gou Dan. His parents work at the docks and are not home during the day, so I take care of him."

As she spoke, her eyes couldn't help but dart towards the pot: "Young lady, what are you braising? It smells so good! My grandson smelled the aroma and insisted on dragging me over here."

Lin Xiuer smiled: "Braised pork offal, pig's trotters and intestines. If you don't mind, Auntie, you can try it after it's cooked."

"Oh dear, I can't accept that..." Granny Wang said politely, but her face was beaming with joy.

When Gou Dan heard that it was edible, his eyes lit up. He tugged at Granny Wang's sleeve and whispered, "Grandma, can we eat it? Can we really eat it?"

Granny Wang patted his head: "Don't rush, don't rush, let's wait until they've finished making it."

No sooner had he finished speaking than footsteps sounded at the door.

A lean old man in his fifties strode in. He wasn't tall, but he walked with a brisk pace.

As soon as he entered, he sniffed hard, his brows furrowed, as if he were pondering something.

"This smell..." he muttered to himself, "Pig's trotters? No, there's something else... Pig intestines? Pig stomach? The spices are..."

Lin Xiuer looked at him and found it amusing—this man had come specifically to sniff out the scent.

The old man walked to the stove, and without any ceremony, squatted down and looked at the pot of braising liquid, his nose twitching like a dog's.

"Young lady, my surname is Zhou, just call me Old Zhou."

"I used to be a butcher, slaughtering pigs and sheep for most of my life. What kind of good meat haven't I eaten? But today, I just can't smell what kind of braised meat it is."

He looked up at Lin Xiuer, his eyes filled with admiration: "Young lady, your skills are amazing."

Lin Xiuer was a little embarrassed by his praise: "Uncle Zhou, you flatter me. It was just something I was thinking about."

"Just guessing?" Old Zhou shook his head. "You think you can figure out this flavor just by guessing? I've eaten pork for most of my life, do you think I don't know this?"

Just then, another woman's voice came from the doorway, loud and clear, with a hint of shrewishness.

"Oh, so someone's actually moved in here?"

Lin Xiuer turned her head and saw a woman in her thirties leading a young girl in.

The woman was wearing a clean floral blouse, her hair was neatly tied up, and her eyes looked up and down at the furnishings in the yard.

"No wonder the smell was so strong all over the street," she said as she walked. "Turns out my new neighbor is making something delicious!"

She walked to the stove, looked at the pot of braising liquid, then at Lin Xiuer, a smile on her face, but there was a hint of teasing in that smile.

"Young lady, you can't do that," she said. "Braising something that smells so good, isn't that just asking for trouble?"

"I was collecting clothes in the yard when I smelled this and I couldn't stand still. I had to come and see who was so wasteful."

"This braised food smells so good, can't a person eat in peace?"

Lin Xiuer was amused by her: "Big sister is joking. This is my first time cooking, and I thought it would be more lively with more people, so I braised a lot."

"Everyone should have a taste when it's done cooking."

"That's wonderful!" The woman clapped her hands. "My surname is Liu, just call me Sister-in-law Liu. This is my daughter, Xiaolian."

She tugged at the little girl beside her, "She's twelve, and she's very obedient."

Xiaolian timidly hid behind her mother, but her eyes couldn't help but peek into the pot.

Dog Egg saw a young lady approaching and went over to say something, but Granny Wang pulled him back: "Don't run around!"

"Where's your husband? I heard he's a very handsome young man?" Liu's wife looked at the people in the yard, wondering which one was the legendary handsome young man.

Lin Xiuer pointed to Ping An, who was chopping wood: "Isn't that him?"

Aunt Liu glanced at Ping An and clicked her tongue twice: "He's indeed good-looking, and has a good figure too. You have good taste, young lady."

Lin Xiuer blushed slightly and didn't dare to reply.

"To be honest, you girls are really brave. Jia Heiyu and his gang were scared out of their wits in here, and you dared to move in. You have guts."

As she spoke, she gave a thumbs up.

"No, sister-in-law, you're joking. I'm just a pancake seller. If we weren't so broke, we'd like to find a nice piece of land and build a few houses."

As Lin Xiuer was speaking, she saw another person slowly shuffle in through the door.

He was an old man in his sixties or seventies, with completely white hair, a slightly hunched back, and a cane. He would take one step and then rest for two.

He seems to have hearing problems; he can't hear what others are saying, so he squints and looks around.

Old Zhou saw him and called out, "Old Fang, what brings you here too?"

Old Fang didn't react and continued walking slowly inside.

He walked to the stove, stopped, took a deep sniff, and a glimmer of light suddenly flashed in his cloudy eyes.

"This smell..." he murmured to himself, his voice hoarse, "This smell... I think I've smelled it before..."

Sister Liu leaned close to Lin Xiuer's ear and whispered, "Old Fang is the one who has lived here the longest. He was here when this family was still living here."

"But now I'm old, hard of hearing, and my legs aren't good either. I don't usually go out, but I don't know why I came out today."

Lin Xiuer looked at the old man and felt a little touched.

Old Fang stood by the stove, not saying a word, watching the pot bubbling away.

Granny Wang leaned over and asked loudly, "Old Fang, are you here to smell it too?"

Old Fang finally snapped out of his daze, turned to look at her, and squinted as he asked, "What?"

"I said—" Granny Wang raised her voice even louder, "You want to smell it too?"

Old Fang nodded, muttering, "I can smell it, I can smell it... I haven't smelled this fragrance in so many years..."